PROJECT REQUIREMENTS: The vision generating the design for Moonlight Villas is that of a small, residential village grouped around the existing natural environment, carefully tucked into this beautiful and suburban hillside property. The design is intended to be a strong environmental response both to issues of energy conservation and to the existing neighborhood context. The natural Southern California landscape is still in evidence with native pepper trees sprinkled across the up-hill properties.
By decentralizing the new apartments into clusters and continuing the strategy of native and climate appropriate landscape on the site, this new development will be compatible with the current landscape and neighborhood. PROJECT SOLUTION: Each of the buildings is connected to the others by a system of exterior circulation punctuated by landscape and recreation opportunities, including open exterior stairs. All of the public areas are meant to be visible from various apartments as a strategy of passive security and ease of supervising children at play.
In addition to being arranged for visibility, light, and ventilation, the apartment roofs are facing south to take advantage of the sun for photovoltaic power generation and arranged for best orientation. The project will comply with all requirements and recommendations of Green Communities.